One of Those Days
by Karianasan
Summary: Fred is having a hard time one morning, and he ends up getting a rather odd proposal from his best friend and housemate Shaggy. "...Should I kidnap you?" Everyday/Slice of Life story, My first story with just focusing on Fred and Shaggy being buds. Completed and Enjoy!
1. One of Those Days

You ever had one of those days?

You know the kind when you just want to roll back into bed and hope for a do over? Where the idea of even getting out of bed, makes you want to just roll over and cover your eyes with the blanket? Fred was having one of those days.

It wasn't anything actually bad had happened, but he was just having trouble with everything. The first thing he did in the morning when he got out of bed was place a thumb accidentally through the edge of his favorite t-shirt. Sure it was old and worn, but he didn't expect it to have been thin enough for a wandering finger to poke through the collar during an awkward morning stretch. Marring the poor fabric with an oddly placed hole that Daphne would have a field day with ' _I told you so's_ ' about his fashion sense. She would make sure to remind him that he needed new sleepwear… _again_.

It only got worse from there… The floor was oddly cold, and his socks or slippers were nowhere in sight. And for some reason, it took several tries to get his stupid door open, something he would have to let Velma know was wrong so she could see what she could do.

When he then moved to try to get to the bathroom, it felt as if he had wound up and kicked the door frame as hard as he could. Bashing his toe in, making it feel like he had aimed for it. Like someone had installed a Fred's big toe magnet, to the wood. Not only cracking part of the nail, but it buried a small splinter into his foot, that he then had to hop to the bathroom to remove. Once he managed to pull the little wooden piece out from his toe and trim his nail, he moved to do his normal morning routine and he cracked a tine on his favorite comb while brushing his hair. So far for Fred, the morning wasn't exactly panning out to be a good start. Nothing earth shattering, but certainly frustrating way to begin the day.

Stumbling finally to get downstairs, he found that he had forgotten to set his clock ahead and it was really an hour later then he had thought. Making him miss breakfast with the rest of the gang, as the girls had left already for something… and he found Shaggy and Scooby cleaning up.

"Like' morning Fred!" Shaggy chirped over his shoulder, fighting off a wave of suds from an overly enthusiastic and helpful Scooby. Having added too much dish soap and making the whole sink overflow with happy bubbles. Leaving him elbow deep in the stuff, but nothing that would dent his cheery mood after some good food. And while normally a morning person himself, Fred just groaned at the chipper attitude that came off of the duo.

"Uggghhh… Morning." Zombie Fred moaned, limping slightly due to his injured toe and shambling towards his section of the kitchen.

Most of the kitchen belonged to the duo, there were an area that the girls and he, had to themselves. Shaggy and Scooby had a massive walk in pantry that they kept all their food in, while the rest of the gang shared a small, normal sized cupboard for the three of them. It had the option to lock it against the two when the rest of the gang had some type of food that would catch the hungry duos attention, and needed to be kept away from hungry mouths. But Daphne still hadn't found the perfect lock to protect their food stores, trying to find more and more complicated locks to keep the duo out. Since when the two were serious about getting their hands on something food related, their deft hands and paws were a force to be reckoned with.

Opening up the door, Fred reached out of habit to the shelf with his favorite cereal. Expecting it to be there, he sighed when his hand hit the wood shelving. Patting it around, his wandering fingers didn't find the edge of the box he was searching for. It seemed that there was no boxes at all that were the right size for cereal. Not ever one of Daphne's fancy name brand cereals, that she had only gotten since it was new and trending at the time.

' _What else today…_ ' He mentally grumbled, shifting his weight and peering into the shelf pace to see if for some reason the box was out of place. Pushing some of the other food out of the way, he wasn't able to find it. His favorite cereal was nowhere to be found.

"Argh!" Fred growled lightly as he swung the cabinet door closed in annoyance, making a bit of a bang as it slammed shut. Today was not going well, and he had just woken up. He could imagine what the rest of the day would be like, if this was any indication.

"R'ou r'ok Red?" Hearing the noises coming out of Fred, Scooby had noticed the mood from the man and came over concerned. One of his people wasn't happy in his favorite place. Who isn't happy when there was so much food all around to eat? It had to be **serious!** So he wanted to cheer Fred up, and pressed his head against the man to try to comfort him. Looking up at him with concerned puppy eyes, wide with worry and want to make it better.

Looking down into those eyes, Fred caved a bit. No matter how much of a bad day he was having, Scooby would try to make it better for poor Fred. And it was hard to be a total grump with an eager pup nuzzling into his midsection.

"Sorry Scoob, didn't mean to make you fuss. Just a rough morning so far." Fred said as he gave the pup an affectionate rub behind the ears and on his head. Earning a drool slobbered kiss in thank you.

"Like' what happened Fred?" Shaggy asked, moving closer to his two buddies were, drying his hands off with a nearby towel he snagged. Having numerous kitchen towels hanging about, there was always one close at hand. He crossed most of his kitchen, to get in ear shot of the others in the room to make talking easier.

"Just… Just one of those days, Shag." Fred sighed, sliding down the pantry door and settled on the floor to pet Scooby more and sigh yet again into the floor. Fred didn't really want to talk about it to Shaggy, feeling like he would just end up sounding whiny. His whole body showing off a defeated posture, slumping against himself. Though Fred was also trying to take the weight off the throbbing toe, to rest it a bit.

Placing a hand upon his goatee, Shaggy looked over the frumpy version of Fred then he was used to seeing the man as. His hair was a mess, compared to his normal immaculate coif he wore. And the PJ's looked worse for wear, noticing the thumb hole that Fred had put in the shirt. And he was favoring a foot, with one toe loosely wrapped in some band aids.

Shaggy hadn't missed that Daphne had finished off Fred's favorite cereal earlier, knowing that was probably what Fred had been searching for Breakfast. And losing one's preferred meal, is never a happy event. So Shaggy could tell well enough, what had happened to the other man and why his mood was so glum. Nodding a few times, his mind went to work on something that might fix poor Fred's predicament.

"Hm? Does that mean I should kidnap you today?" Shaggy wondered aloud, addressing the man by his feet with his pondering.

' _...should kidnap you today?_ ' Echoing in his head, Fred looked up at Shaggy with a confused look on his face. Was his best friend proposing that he should be tied up and carted off somewhere? While Fred had been kidnapped before, it tended to be a rare occurrence and not something that would happen in his own house... by his best friend. _But surely there was more too it then that, right?_

"Kidnapped?" Fred said cautiously, trying to read Shaggy's motives from his posture. But that was the problem with trying to read the laid back, beatnik of a man. Especially in his own home, and favorite room in the house. If he wanted too, Shaggy had a killer poker face.

"Yeah, like what I ended up doing for Velms and Daphne!" Shaggy spoke cheerily, crouching down to rub Scooby into belly rubbing submission. Tail thumbing wildly against the tiled kitchen floor.

Thinking about it, Fred did recall a while ago when Shaggy was up to something and had 'kidnapped' Daphne. Tossing her over his shoulder and everything. Kidnapping the woman to a secret place and hung out all day playing on some swings he had installed by their old clubhouse. And Fred later had bugged Velma about what had happened with her and whatever ' _scouts honor_ ' meant to her. Finding out that Shaggy and Scooby had ganged up on her to bring her after a long day of writing to see a sunrise.

In the past, Shaggy had been behind some of their more enjoyable and not monster driven vacations that they had been to, and countless fun things around the house as well. So maybe it was worth leaving the rest of the day up to Shaggy and one of his ' _plans_ '. Being able to just take a back seat, and let someone else take charge for a day! …Even if it was to be ' _kidnapped_ '.

"Alright!" Fred agreed, tossing a hand up for Shaggy to help lift him to his feet. "What do you need me to do first?"


	2. Proper kidnapping procedure

"Blindfold or no?" Shaggy spoke up from the door frame, flipping around a black band upon one of his fingers as Fred exited out of his bedroom.

After agreeing to be kidnapped, Fred was told to get himself dressed and ready. Not wanting to just yoink the man out into the world in his Pj's… What would Daphne say? There had to be proper etiquette for these kinds of things. And the dress code for a proper, Mystery Inc Kidnapping, was not Pajamas. Though tossing the kidnap-y over the shoulder, was optional.

So the man had stumbled to his room and got himself dressed in time for Shaggy to pose his question.

"… Blind fold?" Staring over at the strip of cloth that Shaggy spun on one hand, Fred didn't remember Daphne having to wear that sort of thing when Shaggy had 'borrowed' her last time. Though he didn't know if the man had used it once they were out of the house and in the van. Or if he was a special case.

"Um… sure. Why not?" Fred might regret it later, but at least he had the advantage of knowing how to walk in the house blind. Only this time, he wouldn't have a girl on each arm… but a Scruffy friend and well, Shaggy. Snatching the material, he only flinched once as he personally placed the cloth over his eyes. Thankful he knew that he could take it off himself, if he needed too. And the fact that little bits of light came in from the edges of his nose, was a comfort.

"Oh shoot, are you like' sure Fred?" Shaggy had forgotten the event that had happened a few years ago, and had brought the blindfold because he had used it on Velma. But noticing the flinch Fred did, he started to regret his idea once he remembered and realized what made Fred react like that.

"Yeah, no worries Shaggy my man!" Fred smiled, shifting his weight and swinging an arm to accurately clamp a hand upon Shaggy's shoulder. "Lead on, oh kidnapper of mine."

Chuckling, Shaggy relaxed and started to move them both towards the stairs and off to his masterful plan. Hoping that Scooby was doing well gathering all the parts to make his idea come together. Taking small steps, he made sure that Fred was taking his time and not overdoing it. Not that he was worried about Fred not being able to see, but more babying the bandaged toe that still made Fred limp a little. Not sure what the other man could have did to the toe to make it hurt so badly. But that one of the reasons that Fred was letting him take him on this escapade.

"Off we go then!" Shaggy said eagerly.

 _There is something about letting go of being able to see, and trusting someone else to lead you somewhere…_ Fred mused to himself, opening up his mind to paying attention to the rest of his senses. Though he could do without the hurt toe, everything else slowly clicked into place. He could feel the slight tension in Shaggy's shoulder, and the slight twisting in his neck as his head scanned about for things to watch out for, for Fred. Even though he had socks on, Fred knew the floor and took confident strides towards the stairs. Waiting for Shaggy to pause before them, Fred knew they had been coming up. Separating himself from Shaggy, Fred bounded down the stairs with a hand upon the railing. Fred counted the steps and then looked back up the stairs to wait for Shaggy to stumble after him. Amusing himself as his friend scrambled to keep up.

"Can't have the blind leading the mastermind, can we?" Fred snickered, holding his hand Shaggy height for the man to slide himself into and resume leading.

"Nope, though I did debate about just tossing you over one shoulder… But." Shaggy paused, looking over at Fred with what he assumed to be a grin.

"But?" Fred played along, wondering what he could be thinking.

"But Daph and Velms are gone for the day, so they won't be able to see me carry you out of the house like that." Shaggy said with a laugh, his whole body bouncing with the amusing visual.

"Ah, yeah. We wouldn't hear the end of it. They would be so annoyed they weren't there for it to take pictures." Fred sagely nodded, placing a hand to his chin in thought. "Well, maybe on the way back? Scooby can poke in and see if they are home, then you can carry me in?"

"That might work." Shaggy pondered with a nod. "Though we will have to see how the day goes."

"True. With all the dastardly deeds and such afoot." Fred posed, with one hand grasping at an imaginary cape, and the other twirling a phantom mustache. "We don't know what might happen!"

 _~ **GROWL!** ~_

Pausing from his dramatic rendition of some type of old 60's villain, a hand moved to his grumbling midsection. It had been a while since he had awoken, and he hadn't gotten anything to eat. So his stomach was lodging a formal complaint against its captors. Turning his head towards where he figured Shaggy was, Fred made his stomach's request known. Sheepishly shrugging, and pointing to the grumbling organ… If Shaggy for some reason, hadn't heard the noise himself.

"Uh… By chance does this kidnapping come with room service or delivery?" Fred hoped, knowing the people behind his abduction were fond of food, and hopefully had taken that into account with his shanghai.

"Now now Fred, I am a civilized kidnapper after all." Shaggy shifted his weight and placed himself under the offered hand to resume his leading. "Scooby is working on that. He should be on his way soon with our goodies and then we can be off to our destination."

"Oh? You already have somewhere in mind?" Fred wondered towards Shaggy. Sure, he knew the guy had come up with plans before for the ladies, but Fred never knew how long those plans took for Shaggy to put together in the past. Or if by chance, Shaggy had these sorts of things figured out before hand, and just needed a reason to pull them out of storage. Fred might just have to ask him, though maybe later. For now he was enjoying the distraction.

With the tug from Shaggy moving, Fred slid into step to match his pace as they passed under the hallway arch and moved into the living room. They crossed the room with no problem, pausing before the closet so the two guys could get their shoes on.

Though Fred needed some assistance getting his shoes on, thankful that his preferred set of footwear didn't include shoelaces. Or, at least his normal shoes didn't. He did have a pair of normal sneakers, but he tended to only break them out when he was planning on doing some type of outdoor activity that needed a more comfortable fit. So hopefully Shaggy didn't have mountain climbing in mind, or he might regret his decision for his default loafers.

"Well, where is your goofy partner in crime?" Fred wondered aloud, and towards where he assumed Shaggy was. Curious that he had yet to hear the telltale signs of the dog's nails making a clatter upon the wooden floor of their house.

"I hope he isn't partaking of that batch of goodies you mentioned. I am hungry enough to want at least something to munch on."

"Nah, we had a pretty big meal with the girls before you woke up. So he should be good for another hour or so before his stomach might be rivaling yours Fred." Shaggy joked, giving Fred a reassuring pat upon his shoulder. Plus as much as the Dane enjoyed food, he also liked making food for other people. So he wasn't mean enough to be asked to make food and then eat it on poor Fred. Well… at least not eat _ALL_ of it.

"I can't believe you guys let me sleep late." Fred grumbled, annoyed that the rest of the gang had eaten without him. Not that they had planned to eat together on purpose that day. But it was a nice way to start day for Fred; to hang out with them and find out what they planned to do that day. Well, if there wasn't something else on their agenda. Then breakfasts were like small planning sessions to try to get everyone on the same page and updated for their current mystery.

"Sorry Fred." Shaggy said sheepishly, feeling bad that Fred had missed a meal with them. Because it was always nice to eat with friends. The more the better. "But Daphne was worried that you might have been up late last night working on something, so she said that we shouldn't wake you. Because we didn't know when you got to bed and didn't want to mess with your sleep schedule."

Tilting his head towards Shaggy's voice, Fred sighed. "Yeah no worries Shaggy, I'm just grumpy today with how my day started. I was up late last night and probably didn't sleep the best with how bad the day had been going so far, so maybe that was the best. I guess you guys made the better call. Who knows how much worse the day might have been with more time for me to do something to myself."

Shaking the thought from his head, Fred wanted to try to put what happened behind him, and look forward to what Shaggy was planning. He trusted his pal to come up with something worthy of the distraction he was seeking, looking forward to heading out and well… having some food to quiet his grumbling stomach. That probably wasn't helping things.

Fred didn't have to wait much longer, as the telltale sign of sign of Scooby was started to come into hearing range. The distinct click clack of the Dane's long, blunt claws clattered down the hallway that lead to the kitchen and was heading their way. There was a rhythm to Scooby's paw falls, keeping an even trot down the wooden flooring as he came around the bend and entered into the living room.

"R'hello!" Scooby muffled a greeting through something. Thinking about it, Fred figured that the dog must have had something in his mouth to make his hello more subdued then normally. It reminded him of all the times they played with a stick and Scooby would taunt Fred past the branch. Plus the 'goodies' had to be contained somehow. Most likely in the well used picnic basket that the duo owned and resided in the cupboard in the kitchen. One of the many containers that the guys had for these sort of occasions.

"Well, Scooby's got the grub, so let's head out!" Shaggy said giddily, eager to get going. Making sure to lead Fred through the front door without problems. Also locking the door behind them, once Scooby trotted past and moved to wait at the van. Steering Fred to the van as well, Shaggy opened the back sliding door with its familiar grinding sound. Placing a hand upon the blond locks, Shaggy guided the noggin past the edge of the door frame of the van to help the blinded man into the vehicle.

"Watch your head, Fred!"


	3. Giving Thanks

Once sat, Fred listened and felt the other goings on of the van. He shifted his attention to the weight shift as Scooby entered the back of the van with him. And he could head whatever Scooby was holding in his mouth, banging against the various edges of the door and the seats once inside. The door sliding close was a sound he could recognize in his sleep, knowing all the ins and outs of his baby, the Mystery Machine. Though often he didn't really get to experience his favorite traveling companion in such a way, relying on only sound and touch. Sure, he knew the feel of her upholstery, and the sounds she made as she roared to life. But most of the time he never was really focusing on them alone.

"Hey Fred…" Called Shaggy as he got into the front seat and closed the door. "Do you want the Full Velma treatment?"

"The Velma treatment?" Fred repeated aloud, hoping that Shaggy would fill him in on what that exactly meant. Did it have to do with something that Shaggy had done the last time he ' _kidnapped_ ' Velma?

"Yeah, I didn't have Scooby with me when I kidnapped Daphne, since he was asleep with you guys. But when I took Velma for a ride, Scoob was with me and was able to help me pull off my grand plan. Now you don't need to be held down like she was, since this is like' kinda your idea. But you can get the full, kidnapping experience if you want." Shaggy offered from the front seat, turning the car on.

Thinking about it, Fred wasn't sure if he wanted the full treatment or not. Though he was curious exactly what the two had to do to properly kidnap Velma. As she didn't kidnap easily. The few ghosts that had tired in the past, had earned more bruises and well placed elbows and knees to tender spots that didn't go so well for the villain in question. So while this was Scooby and Shaggy after all, surprising Velma could possibly go wrong for the kidnapper. She did have an impressive spook reflex and a mean right hook that his jaw knew all too well, even though it had been an accident.

"… Why not." Fred shrugged. _In for a penny, in for a pound._ And it wasn't like he didn't trust the man or the dog. Not like Scooby was going to chomp down hard on his wrist or something like that… At least he hoped not.

"You heard the man Scoob!" Shaggy laughed as he pulled the van down the driveway and started them off on their way. Tires taking purchase against the road and tugging them forward to their destination. Where ever that would end up.

"R'ok Raggy!" Barked Scooby, obviously eager to pull off his part of the ' _Velma Treatment_ '. Fred could hear the Dane doing a few things in the back of the van before there was a weight on the back of the seat he was sitting on.

"Ooof!" Fred grunted as Scooby slipped from climbing over the back of the seat, and landed hard upon Fred's lap. Flailing a bit like a fallen over deer, Scooby fought to right himself upon Fred's lap. Earning the man a few misplaced paws to the face and chest, coughing and hands coming up to defend against the attack. Taking a peek from the now off kilter blindfold to make sure he didn't take another blow from the scrambling dog.

"Sorry R'eddy." Scooby apologized once he was able to regain his footing. Lapping the man in the face, and also pulling up his paws to adjust the blindfold to cover both eyes again. So now Fred was drooled on, smarting from a doggy flailing, and being slowly crushed under the furry butt of Scooby.

"Well… Poor Velma then, if this is what you guys did to her. Oof." Fred said with a chuckle, petting up the side of Scooby to find his head and ruffle it. Not blaming the dog for the incident. Since it was never easy crawling over the seats for the rest of the gang while the van was moving, so he couldn't hold it against Scooby for slipping and trying to get righted again.

"Well, Scooby was more graceful then." Shaggy snickered from the front seat, only having suffered a single hind paw kick to the head and a tail in his nose from all the thrashing in seat behind him. Compared to how they often slept, this was nothing. Especially when Scooby would have one of those chasing dreams, and Shaggy's head was in the way in the real world.

So there Fred was, with a furry weight upon his lap and the van rumbling under his behind. And a third player was also there, letting out a roar in protest against the mistreatment of the ignored organ. His stomach threatening the Dane that sat inches from it. Like if they didn't see to its needs, it would come out and take whatever it could get.

"Oh, poor Reddy!" Patting the belly of the man, Scooby felt bad that he had been ignoring such an important part of Fred. Realizing that it had been… _GASP!_ An **_hour_** since the man had gotten something to eat! _How he was not begging for food_ , like the dog would have in the same situation, he couldn't understand? And this was something within his canine power to fix!

"Be right R'ack!"

Pushing up to his hind legs, Fred took the full pressure of Scooby by the paws that sat upon his thigh. Grunting at the sudden weight upon one leg, he grimaced a bit as he waited for Scooby to scrounge around the seat behind them to get the package of goodies.

As much as he loved the silly dog, he wished sometimes he realized just how **BIG** he was. With paws almost as large as Fred's own hands, and even when the Dane was sitting down, he was at least chest height to the taller man. Velma often was able to lean forward, with her arms crossed resting on Scooby's head without much effort. And sure, Velma was a lot shorter then Fred, but the fact that she could do it without bending over, mean that the dog was just down right _HUGE_. Such it was with Great Danes, one of the largest breeds of dogs that existed. Though thankfully he wasn't a Mastiff, or a St. Bernard in his girth… or Fred's lap would be more crushed then it was. Small favors.

But it was only a temporary discomfort, as Scooby soon found what he was looking for and pulled himself back over and sat back down. At least distributing his weight over more of Fred's lap so that it was evenly over both legs. Though from what he knew from the few times he had helped Mrs. Johnston, the neighbor two houses down, that even something as small as an aging house cat could stand just right on a lap to cause more pain then the goofy Scooby could pull off. So maybe it was just something a pet owner has to deal with, that comes with the territory. Dogs will be dogs…. And at least this dog came with snacks!

"R'ere you ro Reddy!"

Opening up the container that held the food, he fished around for a bit before thrusting something into Fred's hands. It was some type of food in a bag, square in shape. Most likely some type of sandwich, at the feel of the squishy material under the plastic packaging in his hands. Fiddling for bit, he managed to find the edge of the Ziploc bag and pulled the bag open to take a deep breath in of the delicious smelling meal in his hands.

"Ah, perfect Scoob! Thanks!" Fred gave an approving head scratch, approving of the meal he was finally getting.

"E-take-ay-emass-sue." Fred wrongly quoted, as he held up the sandwich before taking a bite. Earning an amused snicker from Shaggy from the front seat.

"It's itadakimasu, Fred." Chuckled the beatnik from the front seat. When it came to food, it was the one thing he was fluent in. And Shaggy was a fan of a culture that took such thanks to not only the food that would become part of you, but the person who made the food for you.

"Yeah, that it what I said. E-ga-key-mass-yu. Thank you for this food!"


	4. Arriving to Their Destination

After downing two sandwiches, Fred was satisfied. And he made sure to reward the eager weight that wiggled in expectation upon his lap, with little bits of a third sandwich that he had been picking apart because it was there, and yummy.

They had been driving a bit while Fred had been occupied with snacks and Scooby. Turning his attention, Fred noticed that the road was gone, and in its place was more dirt and rocks... as he was able to feel the difference between the smoothness of the paved road they had driven on earlier, to the more bumpy and uneven road that they were driving on now.

"Are we almost there?" Fred called out in the general direction of Shaggy, not hearing from the man in a while.

"Yep! Almost like' there Fred." Shaggy cheerily chirped from the driver's seat.

Giving Scooby a pet, Fred continued to monitor the subtle shifts of the van as they traveled through what seemed to be a slightly windy path. Having been distracted by food and the lump on his lap, Fred hadn't been able to properly keep track of time, so he was unsure exactly how long they had been driving, and how long they had been on this path. And it seemed to be heading up slightly up a hill as well.

But he didn't have to wait for long, as he felt the van slow down and slid slightly against the loose ground as they came to a long stop.

"R'ere here! R'ere Here!" Whooped Scooby, his butt wiggling more against Fred's leg as the eager dog was almost jumping to get off his lap and run around. Hoping that the Dane wouldn't try to use his calf as a springboard to catapult out of the door once Shaggy released them both. Listening to Shaggy turn off the van, get out of the front seat, and crunch around the Mystery Machine, Fred followed his travels with his ears as Shaggy to the side door on the right side to let them out.

"Rahoo!"

"Oof!"

As the rolling door was pulled open, Scooby pushed off Fred to send himself into a flying leap to the outside. Groaning, Fred rubbed the tender spots on his legs that Scooby had used to fling himself forward like he had though. But he couldn't blame him for being excited, because Fred was started to get excited himself. _What could Shaggy have in store for him?_

"Sorry Fred, let me help you out." Shaggy apologized for his impulsive other half. "Watch your head."

Guiding the blind man out of the van without a hitch, Shaggy tugged the man to follow a bit on the dirt ground before stopping. He released him long enough to close the van door, before returning to lead him further into the new location they had stopped in. Fred didn't have much to go on with feeling alone, besides the ground felt like some type of rough ground he only could assume was dirt with a rocks here and there. It was uneven, sliding around a bit when he rubbed his shoes across the irregular flooring under his loafers. So he turned his other senses to try to fill in the blanks that his sense of touch was lacking.

Listening, he was able to clearly hear the whoops and barks of joy as Scooby was running off into the echo-y distance. ' _Echo? Hmm…'_ Straining his ears against the sounds of Scooby, his barks were in fact bouncing off something. But it wasn't like when you shout into a canyon, but more… _scattered?_ Like only a bit of Scooby's barks were being returned to Fred's ears.

There also was a lot of rustling with Scooby running through things… things Fred could only assume could be some type of plants. A bush, tree branches or some other type of leafy, crunchy sounding plant bits that the dog was running headlong through… ' _So were they in a forest?'_

Turning his head to the sky a bit, he was able to listen to the rustling of some wind above him, making what he assumed to be leaves moving high above him. He also was able to hear a few birds off in the distance… No doubt nearby birds looking wearily at the bounding, loud Dane that was tromping through their home and wondering if they should consider him a danger.

So forest made sense. Well, a forest with some type of path or road. Though where this was, Fred wasn't sure. There were a few different places he could think of that this type of place could be, but nothing was coming to mind. Between the parks, and other nearby woodland areas.

"Since we are here, you can take off the blind fold now Fred." Shaggy spoke up from somewhere behind where Fred had been standing.

"Oh, we are here, here. Got it." Lightly pulling the blindfold off, Fred had his eyes closed to make sure he would deal with the sudden light. Tucking the bit of cloth in his pocket, so he wouldn't lose it. Blinking slowly, he flinched a few times as he squinted in the midday sun. Taking a bit to look around, he was right and was in the woods. Looking around, it took Fred a bit before he actually managed to turn around and see the actual location they had arrived at.

"Oh, well... Hi Clubhouse! Nice to see you again." Fred chuckled, amused at the location that Shaggy had brought him too. It had been a long time since he had visited their old handout, and the place was sight for sore eyes.

Over the years, the gang have had several clubhouses in the past. Their first was a tree house, and a few others in various places. Though sadly as skilled as they were as children, a tree house didn't last as long in the tough tornado weather in Ohio. And the others that came after it, had been either left in their old homes, or had to be taken down for one reason or another. But the current and last Clubhouse that sat before Fred, was built to last. And the gang had made sure to use parts of the older places to help build the new place in honor of the old. And Velma made sure to keep the place up code and in working order. She spent the most amount of time in the clubhouse out of the gang.

"So what are we going to be doing here?" Fred wondered, giving Scooby a scratch to the head as the Dane returned from his joyous romp in the woods to join them by the clubhouse.

Giving Fred a grin, Shaggy pointed upwards dramatically shooting Fred a knowing grin. "To the roof!"


	5. Masterful Plan Revealed

Walking into the clubhouse, Fred was met with all sorts of happy memories. From his old trophies on the walls, to the crazy contraptions that Velma had scattered all over the place, Daphne's row of scarf holders by the front door and pictures of them as bright eyed youths. Several old Scooby toys littered the floor, along with Shaggy Frisbees and comics?

"Hey, has Velma been holding out on us and bring comics to hide in here? Or are these yours or something?" Fred wondered, looking over at the small pile of newer comics that was sitting scattered across the floor. Unfamiliar with the names and covers for comics he was used to seeing in Velma's room. Though she did prefer graphic novels over single paperbacks due to how nice it looked on her shelves.

Peering over at one of the comics, Shaggy's brows furrowed as he looked over the titles.

"Nope, not mine. I still collect Commander Cool comics, but not much else. Though there was that free comic day a while back, so maybe these are from that?" Shaggy said with a shrug. "We'll have to talk to Velma and ask when we get home… if she is back yet. Follow me!"

Leading Fred across the building, Shaggy moved to one corner of the room and pulled on a lever. It revealed a section of the ceiling that had a small ladder that dropped down. Pulling on the wooden frame, Shaggy lifted himself and climbed to the roof. Waving a hand down from above at Fred, beckoning him to follow.

"Come on up!"

Trailing behind Shaggy, Fred clambered to the roof and found himself beside his best pal. Less inclined to go scaling up the ladder, Scooby found one of his old beds and curled up to take a nap while his buddies did whatever they planned to do on the roof.

"Ok, so I'm up here... now what?" Fred wondered, curious on what Shaggy had in mind. What could he be up to, that was taking place on top of the roof? What could the lanky man have planned, that he might have had set up before hand? Was this one of his grand schemes that he had in stockpile for a rainy day? Or just something that he was making up on the fly?

One day Fred was going to have to sit down, and pick Shaggy's brain about how he comes up with these masterful plans. It always seems to be the kind of thing each of them needed. In his own, weird Shaggy way.

"Oh, Like' wait here for a second. Let me get something so we'll be comfortable." Shaggy perked up, and then dashed off and down the ladder. But before Fred could react, Shaggy appeared back with blankets in arms. Layering them out on a stretch of the roof, Shaggy made a neat little nest for them to sit on.

"Alright, I want you to lay down and look up!" Shaggy offered, hand gesturing at the pile before them on the roof. Indicating his intentions.

"Look up?"

"Yep! Come on now, lay down! Chop chop." Shaggy light heartily ordered. As much as the man might order, unless it was something actually important.

Shrugging, Fred wasn't about to disobey. Laying down, he made himself comfortable on the pile of blankets. Settling into the comforters, he crossed his arms and looked up into the great blue sky that hung above them. The clubhouse was in a small clearing, so there was no trees to get in the way of their beautiful view. Moving on the other side of Fred, Shaggy settled himself on the pile of coverlets, facing the opposite direction. So their heads were next to each other so they could see the same bit of sky at the same time. Snuggling into the material, Shaggy made himself comfortable.

"Ok... So what do you see?" Spoke up the beatnik, gesturing at the sky above them. His face splitting with a grin as he looked over and watched Fred from where he lay next to him. Gauging his reactions.

"Uh... I see blue."

"And?"

"Um... the sun?"

"Yeah, and what else?"

"Hmmm..." Thinking about it, Fred was trying to figure out what answer his buddy was expecting. Looking at what was before him, Fred tried to think like the Shaggster. What was the reason that his pal brought him all the way out there? What was out here, besides him, Scooby and the clubhouse… that made this the place where Shaggy drove them? It had to be something so simple, because that I what Shaggy does best.

' _Out in a forest, looking up at the sky… It's daytime, so it's not like me bringing Daphne to see the stars… And Velma hadn't gotten all giddy with her telescope, so it probably wasn't a planet or satellite being able to be seen during the daytime. Plus, that was more Velma-ese then Shaggese. It wasn't the birds… because Shaggy probably wasn't paying attention to local migration patterns. Again, more of a Velma thing. So what was out here that was the whole point? Looking up at the sky with all the…_ '

"Are… are we going to be looking for cloud animals?" Fred finally guessed. It was the only thing that seemed _Shaggy_ enough, to make sense why he was laying here and looking straight up.

"Yep!" Shaggy agreed, happy Fred had figured it out on his own.

' _Clouds…. Really?_ ' Fred's inner adult complained to himself, mentally challenging the idea of doing something so childish. He was a mature, responsible adult… and he shouldn't be spending time doing such a little kid thing… Right? But thinking about it, there was no reason to **NOT** indulge in his inner child once and a while. Shaggy had proven that with a simple game of tag… so why not watching clouds and seeing if they make funny shapes?

As long as he was a normal adult when it really counted… Was it so bad for him to satisfy his youthful nature he tends to try to keep on such a short leash? He wasn't just a paranormal loving, superstition craving kid anymore. He isn't going to drive his friends to chase his wild machinations across the neighborhood because what he read in his uncles Exaggerator magazine headlines. And Velma had already chided him in the past, when she had found out that he still reads those magazines…

' _What did she say again? Ah, yeah… There is no crime in liking something and kids are supposed to have active imaginations. There is nothing wrong with enjoying something, even if it isn't real._ ' Fred loosely recalled, giving in to the temptation that Shaggy was hanging in front of him.

"Whelp… We are here. So might as well enjoy the kidnapping and give in to the abductor's demands, right buddy?"

"Yep, you have like' no choice! Mwahahahaha." Trying to sound like an evil villain, Shaggy made an attempt at an evil laugh that really didn't work. His voice far too squeaky and well… Shaggy to sound villainous. Sending Fred into a set of laughter.

"Oh heh heh ho hooboy… You need to work on your super villain laugh there." Fred snorted through his laughter at his best friend. "Or they will take away your scoundrel license!"

But Shaggy didn't seem deterred. "Har har har! Mine is an evil laugh!" Pulling up his hands into his sleeves, to shorten his arms and wiggling them at Fred from his blanketed spot next to him. Curling two fingers and making clawing motions at his victim beside him.

And being the closet geek that he was, Fred gave the proper response to the famous quote. Though slightly out of order, but still part of the same scene. "Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" Before falling into more laughter, tears welling up out of the corner of his eyes as he allowed himself to be silly and enough the exchange between him and his pal.

"Hahahah, ha ha hey…"

"Yeah?"

"…Thanks Shag."

And without skipping a beat, Shaggy replied.

"Any time!"

Shaggy said honestly, happy that Fred was getting out of the funk that he was in earlier. There was a tension that he could see in Fred that was dissolving along with the bemused laughter. Relaxing himself into the blankets and showing off a more laid back posture that was a welcome sight to his mellow partner. Fred was crossing his legs and tucking his arms light heartily behind his head to stare up at the sky with a critical eye, looking out for his first cloud animal. Which was a relief to Shaggy... Knowing that from here on out, Fred would be able to fully enjoy being goofy and looking at clouds with him.


	6. Trouble with Fun

A small silence fell over between the two men, looking up at the sky. Each eager to examine the fluffy clouds before them to find a shape, but it was proving a bit troublesome at first. It was more so that there were lots of clouds on top of each other, then the lack of them.

Masses of shapes fused over each other, on several layers that floated lazily upon the sky above the two men. From chunky masses, to wispy strands... Each with their own personality and character. Though not many of them were showing up as animal shapes.

As time ticked by slowly, Fred really wanted to be apart of this kidnapping properly. So, he strained his eyes as he looked to the sky for any signs of some shapes that he would reconize. Eyes darting from one section to the next, in rush for his vision to grasp some type of shape that he could point out to Shaggy. Remembering back in the day, that one of the best things with looking for cloud animals, was to point it out to the other person and seeing it they would see kinda the same shape like you did. At least before it morphed into something else, or disappeared upon the winds.

"Fred."

Getting distracted from his quest, Fred peeled his eyes from the sky to look over at Shaggy, who was shooting him a concerned look.

"Yeah Shag?"

Shaking his head, Shaggy's face softened as he reached over to cover Fred's eyes for a second with a hand.

"You're trying too hard and looking too closely. Take a breath, and widen your view to scan over the sky slowly. Don't be so serious with trying to find like' a cloud Fred."

Trying to take a deep breath in and out, Fred felt a bit frustrated at the fact that he was finding it so hard to be able to do this. He had been able to do it with no problem when he was little. _Why was it so hard to do now?_

Shaggy watched on, as he continued to have his hand upon Fred's eyes. But Fred's body posture was getting worse, and not better with the breathing.

"Hey Fred, why are you stressing yourself out like that? It's _supposed_ to be fun." Shaggy spoke worried, concerned about his pal sitting beside him.

Sighing, Fred slumped against the blankets under himself. "I guess..."

"You guess?" Shaggy pulled his hand off of Fred's face only to watch the man place the back of his hand against his own eyes.

"I guess I have a hard time enjoying myself like this."

Fred admitted, pushing himself to a sitting position to hang his shoulders and lean forward once he crossed his legs. Not wanting to look at Shaggy, turning his back slightly towards him. He had taken all this time to bring him here to have fun, and he was just being a grump and ruining his plans.

With his back to him, Fred wasn't looking at Shaggy as he shot the man a worried look. Shaking his head once, he then moved to sit back to back to Fred, pressing his weight slightly on the man so he knew he was there.

"Well, then you just need ask yourself why it's hard to enjoy yourself? Like' I know you can let loose with stuff, but it seems that certain types of fun you keep holding yourself back against. Why is that?"

Fred hadn't been prepared for Shaggy to prop up against him. And it wasn't the most comfortable thing to be leaning so forward as he had been, with the weight of his friend upon his back. So, he had to scoot against Shaggy to right himself, bringing them back to the middle and pressing his head against the floof that made his Shaggy's hair. It had been a long time since Shaggy had done this to him, maybe it was the nostalgia from being at their old clubhouse that was bring out Shaggy's old mannerisms as a kid. Or the fact that it had been that long since he had spent time with him that they hadn't had time to do this. But there was a strange sort of comfort being back to back with Shaggy. The guy he had known all his life, and lives with on a regular basis.

"Well, I think the main problem is... that I'm afraid." Fred finally said, after weighting his thoughts for a while before answering his best pal.

Shaggy shifted a bit, but let Fred continue. Feeling that the man probably needed to just talk it out, before they could get to the point of enjoying themselves. Velma had this problem too. Both her and Fred over thought things and would get stressed out on the little details that they themselves put on their own mind. Or doubting themselves over something that happened a long time ago.

"When we were kids, I had no restraint on myself. And being so into things... I always put you guys in trouble."

"Are you talking about those magazines Fred?"

"Yeah, I mean so many times we were on a mystery, and because of my wild accusations... we could have been in a lot of trouble."

"Well, yeah. But it didn't."

"But it **could** have..."

"Fred, listen. We were kids, taking down adults doing wrong things. It was probably not something we should have done in the first place. Ha-ha." Shaggy admitted, thinking back to when they had been really little kids and took on some of the crazy mysteries they solved before they should have even been worrying about such things.

"But worrying about mole men when we were being chased down by a giant Cheddar monster, or fretting about some mutant brain sucking alien when there as a green glob ghoul right behind us. Well, it's not that much of a stretch. And it didn't stop you from coming up with a crazy plan with Velma and Daphne to catch the guy in the end. Sure, they were wild and crazy stories, but it's not like that was a problem for a little kid to enjoy."

Fred thought about it. If he had been their parents, he wasn't sure how he would have been able to cope with his elementary year old kids solving crimes to catch actual adults doing bad things. Though thankfully his own parents were pretty mellow on the subject. And well, Shaggy's sheriff father had lectured them more than enough growing up, to cover his own parent's share.

"Do you still like those things? Shaggy wondered, shifting his head slightly to look slightly towards Fred. Wondering how the man was doing. Trying to gauge the man's reactions and tone of voice.

"...Yeah. I do." Fred admitted, having to say it out loud. Shaggy being the second person he had finally told the truth too. The first being Velma several years ago, when she had found out his secret.

Shaggy heard how heavy the words were, and didn't miss the tension that was in Fred's back as he had said that. Which was the opposite thing he was hoping for. He was stressing Fred out more, when they were there to enjoy themselves. Hoping that they would at least reach an ok point for Fred, or help him realize something so it wold make things easier on his companion.

"Do you think they are real?"

" **No**." Fred almost shouted in quick response, before catching himself and feeling ashamed for the outburst. "No... I just enjoy reading the articles and stories that people came up with. It is my uncle's magazine after all. I like supporting all the hard work those writers have to deal with, and admire how they can keep coming up with those wild and crazy stories after all these years."

"Well, then what is wrong with that?" Shaggy wondered.

"..."

' _What **was** wrong with that?_ ' Fred thought to himself, trying to come to grips with it. Recalling what Velma had said to him when she had found out. ' _There is nothing wrong with liking something, even if it's not real. There is nothing to be ashamed of._ '

"Well, I guess my biggest worry is that I will lose track of things if I enjoy myself. Like I did back then. I would be so caught up in some crazy story, that I put you guys in danger somehow. The stakes are higher, and it feels like the mysteries just keep getting more dangerous. That if I allow myself to have fun, I might end up doing something that would be bad for the gang." Fred worried, sighing into the sky. Eyes wandering across the floating clouds that was above the line of trees.

"Well, that's what you have us for!" Shaggy shifted to give Fred a shoulder bump. Wishing that Fred would not feel so constricted to be so serious all the time.

"Sure, you are the leader, but it's not like we are kids anymore. You can let loose and have fun every once and a while. And if you start going off the rails, just leave it up to good old Shaggster! Plus, right now we aren't on some mystery where you need to be so cautious. We are at home, in the club house. So unless some monster comes running out of those woods, I think it's ok to relax and enjoy some silly cloud watching with your best bud!"

What Shaggy was saying did make sense. But it was hard for him to just agree with it and stop years of self-restraint and old habits. Not like flipping a switch to just make himself not fret and worry all the time. But he certainly felt a bit better about the whole ordeal.

"I'll try." Fred offered, willing to try to lighten up a bit. Though it was always simpler if the rest of the gang was doing it, like when Shaggy had convinced them to play tag on the lawn. It's easier to be silly when everyone is doing it, especially the stiff and sensible Velma.

"Well good, because you are not allowed to not have fun! This is my kidnapping after all, so you will have to do what I say or... or..." Trying to think up a good threat, Shaggy waggled a finger for a second in the air before coming up with an appropriate answer. "Or I won't buy your favorite cereal when I go to the store tomorrow!"

"Ouch, hitting a guy where it hurts." Fred smiled and gave a bit of a laugh. Knowing that to Shaggy, the threat of not having yummy food was one of the few things he considered a horrible offence. Fred had honestly had been looking forward to that earlier, so to him the threat was real. And he would have to do what his capture suggested, less his breakfast tomorrow might suffer.

"Well then, you better get to having fun then, Fred. Chop chop!"


	7. Cloudy With The Chance of Animals

As comfortable as it was to have his back against Shaggy's, it wasn't really good for cloud watching. So eventually they both settled back down into the nest of blankets Shaggy had set up. And even Scooby had joined them, hearing the conversation earlier and wanting to give Fred a bit of a comforting snuggle. Wedging his warm body against Fred's side, oozing leaving paws and limbs out from where he had settled across the comforter.

Fred had felt better talking about it, _and Shaggy was right!_ This wasn't exactly the time or place he really needed to worry about such things. It had been a long time since Coolsville had seen a masked villain, not with the Mystery Inc. gang living there. So, it wasn't like one was going to be coming out of the woods to chase after them any time soon.

Their focus went back to the sky, as the clouds had broken up a bit more since they had last cast eyes upon them. Moving in more patches and clumps, rather than overlapping bunches of blobs.

"Hey, does that look like an elephant to you?"

Finally spotting something among all the shapes, Fred thought he spotted a pachyderm in the sky. It was standing, with its truck arching above its head trumpeting. Big ears flapped in the breeze, and it almost looked like it had a blanket draped across it's back. Similar to what he had seen sometimes in circus pictures, like colorful displays to catch the eyes of the audience. Pointing to the animal, Fred tried to show Shaggy where it had been crossing the expanse above them.

"Oh, really?"

Squinting from where he had been searching, Shaggy brought his attention to where Fred was gesturing. Scanning the area that Fred had directed him too, but he didn't quite see an elephant.

"Well, I think I kinda see a bear. With his head pointing up, and standing on all four legs. Like there, right?"

Shaggy pointed in the same area Fred had been. Casting his eyes back to the elephant, it had indeed changed to more of a bear. The bit that had been the truck had separated and drifted in front of the now bear before him. And the big ears had compacted on themselves, looking more like what Shaggy had suggested.

"Dang, well it _was_ an elephant."

"Heh, yeah. They will do that... Oh! Look here!"

Pointing to a section nearby, Shaggy had spotted something to show off to Fred.

"...Doesn't that look like a bunch of grapes?"

Shifting his view to where Shaggy had been pointing, Fred could see it. The various little clouds had bunched up together in little balls, and there was a small trail of wispy clouds sticking up off the top like a stem. Curling off in one direction as if it was still connected to the vine. Trust Shaggy to find cloud food shapes in the sky.

"Rid someone ray Rrapes?" Perking up at the mention of food, the big head of Scooby looked around for the mentioned food. Trying to find the fruit so that he might snack on them.

"Sorry Scoob, unless you can run into the sky. The grapes are only something you can look at." Fred said with a pat to the dog's head, trying to soften the letdown of no food to be eaten.

"Rah, shucks." The Dane huffed, settling back to his nap. Shaggy chuckling at Scooby's reaction, though he would totally eat some cloud grapes if he could get up there himself. Wondering if they would be as fluffy as they looked.

"Hey Fred, look at this one. It's not in the clouds, but rather what the clouds had parted and made look like in... how would Velma call it?" Tossing his hands up in the air, Shaggy pondered what term Velma would nonchalantly spout out as Fred tried to search to see what he was talking about.

"not space... Nothing space. Positive space... Ugh, I know it's something with space at the end." Shaggy grumbled, wishing he was better with remembering all those terms Velma could say with ease. And well, Daphne wasn't too bad either when it came with words. Being a journalist, and avid blogger, she made full use of the dictionary that Velma had once gifted her years ago.

"Do you mean Negative space?" Fred offered, hearing the ideas Shaggy had been tossing out there as he thought. Figuring that was the thing that made the most sense with what the man had been guessing aloud. And seemed like a good technobabble Velma term.

"Ah, yeah! Thanks Fred." Pointing at the shape above him and slightly to the left. "The negative space over here, like' looks like a big nosed piggy. See the snout?"

Fred followed the finger, and focused on the spot in the general area he was pointing at. Since it was not the clouds he was looking for, it took him a bit of searching before he too had seen the big pig in the sky. Two little clouds make the nostrils of the pig's big nose, and the gap in the clouds made its portly belly and little legs. With another cloud drifting lazily in the space to make up its happy looking eyes. The only thing it seemed to be missing was a curly little tail. But that would probably be really hard to catch a cloud looking exactly like that.

Fred hadn't thought to look past the clouds to search where they weren't, to see shapes. Envying Shaggy's creative mind that allowed him to see beyond the task before them to see more then Fred would think to look for. Why Shaggy was always great to bounce ideas off of, because sometimes something was sitting right in front of his nose, and Fred couldn't see it past the clouds.

"Man Shag, I see it. Cute little guy."

"Yep. Well as long as he lasts before changing to something else." Shaggy cheerily said. He wasn't sad to see the little pig go when it did. It just meant that it was possible for it to become something else to show off to Fred.

"Well... Hm." After a short silence, Fred spoke up as he tilted his head to look at the shape his eyes had locked on. "Well it isn't a cloud animal, but it certainly looks like something."

"Hm? Where?" Shaggy asked, wondering what he had spied in the clouds.

"Look there... That little triangle shape with the little blob on the top and the two little wheels on the bottom? Doesn't that remind you of the little solar car that Velma had put together for that science fair display she had made for the kids that one year? The blob on the top being the little panel that she wired to the Styrofoam triangle car body she had carved. And then the little circles on the bottom are the wheels? Do you see it?"

Trying to tilt his own head to look, Shaggy scanned the sky for the shapes Fred had mentioned. It took him a bit, but eventually he found the set of clouds that fit his description.

"Oh, yeah. I can totally see that being like the little car she made. It was surprisingly quick for a three-wheeled car she made in a week."

Shaggy always loved watching her little experiments. Especially when they were made for the kids. Velma had long ago been convinced to head up the regional science fairs, naming the award after her since she had been the undefeated champion many years running in her youth. So often she was asked to set up the theme for the annual competition. And that year she had decided it was all about working off the sun. And so, she had made a few examples of what the students could do, since she wasn't going to ask them to do something she didn't try herself. Though they had several months to come up with something and she only gave herself a week to do.

Though spotting something else, distracted Shaggy from his train of thought.

"Hey, does that look like a bunny to you?"

Fred squinted at the pointed cloud and thought it over.

"Actually, I see more of a duck then a rabbit."

"Really, I see the little rabbit ears point that way, and then their little back feet are sticking out there. Like a side profile of a bunny."

Looking it over as Shaggy described it, Fred slowly saw the same thing he did. But then he could also see what he had spotted at first.

"I think there is an optical illusion like this. I've seen it online before. See, where you see the rabbit ears, I see a duck mouth. And then that big back rabbit foot, I see as part of the wing and the tail sticking out. And the little rabbit tail, well to me I see that as the other wing on the opposite side." Fred pointed out, trying to explain how he saw the little cloud, hoping that Shaggy could also see the other version of the clouds.

Scrunching his brows, the lanky man considered what Fred was saying. As he explained what each part was, slowly Shaggy's mind was able to grasp the other shapes that it could also be. Seeing the rabbit become the duck, and then shift back just depending on how he looked at it, was weird but kinda neat as well.

"Wow, I like' can see that too Fred."

"And right next to it. Doesn't that kinda look like a dog chasing something through the clouds?" Pointing out the shape, it certainly looked like some type of large dog trotting across the sky. Shaggy had watched Scooby chase so many things over the years, it was easy for him to make out that kind of image. It even had a little gap in the clouds as if that was the dust kicked up as the dog made a mad dash for something.

"Maybe it is like Scooby up there, in search for the grapes. Ha ha ha." Shaggy said with a laugh.

"You could be right. Scooby must have dreamt himself into the clouds in search for food. Running it down, in search for the tastiest of cloud he could find." Fred commented, as Scooby had started to kick slightly in his sleep. As if he was really chasing after something in his own head. Fred hoped he would be able to catch it.

A small wind kicked up, making Shaggy shiver. He was tempted to pull over some of the covers when he tilted his head and looked off to the side. He really hadn't been paying attention to that area as much, but it had gotten his attention now.

"Uh... Fred. Fred. We got to get up, and like' now man." Pushing himself to a sitting position, he started to gather the blankets around him. But the comment caught Fred off guard. He had been having fun just hanging out with Shaggy and Scooby like this, but now Shaggy was just telling him to leave.

"But..."

"Just look over there, and you'll see why I am rushing us. Come on, wake up Scoob and we got to get out of here before that reaches us!"

Looking over in the direction Shaggy was pointing, it was easy to see what had spooked the man. Ominous and Dark grey clouds were quickly crossing the sky at a startling rate. And it wouldn't be long before that would hit them. And being out sitting on the roof, expose to the oncoming storm... they really needed to hide indoors.

"Oh shoot. Scoob. Hey Scooby, we need to get up buddy." Fred shoved against the lump by his side. But the lanky Dane wasn't budging. He was dead to the world, chasing his dream.

"Uh, he's out. Looks like I need to pull out plan B." Shaggy sighed, knowing that the storm was approaching fast and they didn't have time to try to get both him and the blankets to safety. But he was far too heavy to just leave up there. Plus, Daphne would complain about the wet dog smell if he came back like that.

"Sorry buddy."

~ _FWEEEEEEEEEEET_ ~

Placing two fingers in his mouth, he let loose a sharp whistle. Whipping out of his sleep, Scooby splayed out both paws out in front of him in a ready pose. Butt sticking up in the air with his back legs poised and looking around for where the noise had come from.

" ** _FETCH!_** "

Tossing an imaginary toy... bone... object that Scooby might run after, the Dane was quick to catch on the motion and spring board after the object in search for what really wasn't there. Shaggy felt bad that he was lying to his pal, but he would make it up once they were safe from the rain. Grabbing handfuls of blankets, the two men scrambled to throw them down into the clubhouse before dashing inside themselves.

Fred had just managed to get the ladder in place and sealed up in time for the torrential downpour to hit. It sounded like someone had decided to toss buckets upon buckets of water on the roof of the clubhouse. Looking out of the windows, the rain had been so heavy that it was hard to see the Mystery Machine past the wall of water that was cascading outside.

"Phew... That was close."


	8. Just Beyond the Wall

Watching the rain fall from the window, Fred was surprised how much had fallen in such a short time. It had certainly let up a lot since the initial downpour, but it was still coming down. So, they would either have to wait till it was over, or risk the dash it would take to get the van. And frankly Fred really didn't want to get wet if he didn't have too.

Shaggy had actually been lucky with his early deception for Scooby. Not only had they left old dog beds, but some of Scooby's old toys as well. He had just assumed that one of them was what Shaggy had thrown, and didn't think anything of it past the idea of bringing the toy back to Shaggy to throw again. Which Shaggy did a few times before Fred moved to sit himself down against the wall under the window with a huff.

"You ok Fred?" Shaggy asked, worried at the look and sigh that Fred had given him.

"It just feels like my bad luck was catching up to us. Here, we had been having fun finding the clouds and then a storm just rolls in and shuts that whole thing down." Fred grumpily mentioned, feeling like his dark cloud had finally caught up with him since his earlier mishaps.

"But, like rain is so important! you can't have food without water." Shaggy said chipperly. He personally loved the rain, and as long as it wasn't accompanied by some dark and creepy castle or gloomy mansion... It was nice to just sit there and listen to the rain falling against the clubhouse. And it wasn't like they were somewhere inconvenient. This was their old clubhouse, which they had spent most of their youth inside... Well, when they weren't breaking down somewhere and solving some mystery of the week. They had comics, they had comfortable bean bags, they had a roof over their head and the picnic basket full of left over sandwiches. That, and he bet that there were _still_ some hidden emergency snacks hiding somewhere in the place.

"Trust you to find the silver lining."

Shaking his head, Shaggy tossed the toy one more time before heading to sit beside Fred. Sliding down the wall, he took up position beside his friend and leaned his head back so he could listen to the rain while Fred sulked.

"You know... This is a perfect time to finally make good on my promise."

Turning to Shaggy, Fred looked over at the man with a confused look. _What sort of promise was he referring too?_ Nothing that he could think of off the top of his head. _What could he mean?_

"I never took you up on that offer to sit and listen to the rain with you." Shaggy mentioned, though it had been years since the accident that had blinded Fred for a week. Since then, they had never had a good opportunity to just sit back and enjoy a storm together. Most of the time they ran into a storm just by themselves, it was on a mystery and not really a good time to sit back and enjoy the sounds.

Recalling that day, Fred thought back with a smile slowly forming on his face. Sure, it had been scary to lose his sight for a little while... And he could have done without the nightmare. But listening to the rain... no, being apart of the rain was something he cherished. And now he was going to have the opportunity to share it with his best pal.

Thinking about it for a second, Fred searched his pockets for a second. Shifting himself to one side, he fished around fir a bit before he managed to get past his tight pocket to the piece of material inside. He had stuffed the blindfold in his front pant pocket, not wanting to lose it on Shaggy. But he figured it would be the best way to help Shaggy to really focus on the storm just beyond the wall against their backs.

"Oh, yeah. That will work." Taking the offered cover, he tried to get it around the fluff that was his hair. It took a bit of help from Fred before he had managed to get it properly over his eyes.

"So, you said before that when the rain hits the ground, it sounds like sizzling steaks... right?"

Shaggy wondered, tilting his head a bit in Fred's direction to ask the question. It was weird for him to not rely on his sight for things. He was so used to being able to see things, like what he might have to be scare of... or what he might have to eat, that it was strange to have that taken away from him. But it was also helping him feel the same way by a tiny bit, of what Fred had gone through. So, he wanted to give the experience his full attention.

Taking a deep breath, Shaggy shut out the darkness that greeted his eyes, in lue of his other senses. Well, ignoring the fact that his stomach was reminding him that he was getting hungry. He pushed it aside to take in everything else around him. From the wooden flooring under him, to the cold wall that had chilled with the rain over head. And occasionally off in the distance, if he strained his ears... he could hear some thunder rumbling far away.

But the rain was what he was supposed to focus on.

Being so far out in the woods where the club house sat, it was easy for Shaggy to just focus on the pattering of the water against the ground. With only a dirt road to reach it, it wasn't exactly a common place for people to drive too. So it was just them and the rain.

Fulling embracing the sound of the storm, Shaggy then turned to his own mind to compare it to what Fred had said before. The sound of sizzling steaks, could the rain be compared to the piece of meat hitting a hot skillet, or being gently placed across an awaiting grill? Juices bubbling and snapping against the heat of the moment, being the same as water hitting the ground from a high height?

Face twisting a bit, Shaggy had to disagree.

"You know Fred, I don't think it sounds like steaks." Shaggy had given up eating them long ago, but it didn't mean that he didn't cook it for other people. Or didn't still drool a bit when the sound hit his ears.

"What, really?" Said Fred disappointed, hoping that his friend would hear the same thing that he did. Kind of like what they had been doing with the clouds.

"Definitely not steaks... But **Bacon**. Yeah, I totally think it sounds like sizzling bacon on a pan. Steaks in a pan have more of a roaring, whooshing sound that might be more like a water fall or rushing water down a street. And steaks on a barbecue have a bit more pop to it, but I think that Bacon is a better comparison. Steaks can be more muted, while bacon has more of a unique mixture of the different tones that are more like what is outside."

Leaning back, Shaggy checked again. But his memory still served as an agreement to his statement. _Definitely Bacon_.

Laughing, Fred couldn't compare to the food master that was Shaggy. Leave it up to him to correct his statement with a better sounding food dish then the one he had come up with. It was still a type of cooking meat that it sounded like, Shaggy was just being far more specific. But he would have to check online later to see if the man was right. Surely there was somewhere on the internet where he could check what cooking bacon and steaks sounded like to compare. He didn't have as specialized of memory that Shaggster had. Though Fred did wonder if Velma would agree with his statement, or is she would think of something else to compare it too. And Daphne would call them all nerds.

"Well, bacon or steaks... it's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Shaggy had to agree. Though it was certainly another way to enjoy the storm then he had done previously. So, next time he put aside some time to enjoy the rain, he was going to have to close his eyes and drool a bit at the idea of food.

 _Speaking of food..._

"Hey Freddy." Shaggy tilted his head and pushed up a corner of the blindfold to look over at his buddy. "With all this talk of food... want to break into the last few sandwiches that are in the basket. I think I should have packed enough to take the bottomless pit into account." He said tossing a hand towards the sleeping form of Scooby. Haven fallen asleep with a squeaky toy in his mouth.

"That sounds like a great idea Shag. Count me in."

Breaking out the sandwiches, the two guys enjoyed a meal together. Breaking into small bits of conversation as the rain came down beyond the clubhouse. As they ate and talked, slowly the rain was lightening up. Because nothing lasted forever, and it was eventually going to come to an end.

By the time they finished their food, and Scooby had woken up to help them polish off the rest of the basket... It was starting to get late enough to think about head back home. But not before giving Fred one more thing to top off the day with. Sitting outside, hanging out over the edges of the trees that sat all around them... was a small rainbow peeking over the forest. With dusk slowly creeping up on the rainbow to toss some rich sunset colors into the mix. Making it certainly something to take in.

"Hey Shaggy?"

"Yeah Fred."

"Thanks for the kidnapping." Fred admitted, having really needed to have a day through the eyes of his pal. Making what had seemed like a really bad day, turning out to be one to remember. Shaggy grinned and clapped the man on the shoulder as he spun the blindfold on one finger. Guiding them towards the van and eventually home that was waiting for them.

"Any time Fred. Just say the word and I'll be there to whisk you away to something fun and silly. It was my pleasure."


End file.
